Ok, so we’re in lockdown and you’re having to work from home / limit social contact / be in isolation. Looking at the supermarket shelves I see it isn’t just the loo roll that’s being stockpiled – the biscuits and crisp shelves are cleaned out too… It seems people are stocking up massively on processed and ultra-processed foods during this lockdown period.
During any lockdown or restriction of movement, most people will also be moving less (working from home, not going to exercise or social events) and eating more (boredom eating, comfort eating etc)…. And we all know the result of this, right? People are already circulating jokes and memes about how much weight they’re going to gain, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
I understand that everyone is scared – panicking even – over the short-term health implications of this virus, but your long-term health implications also remain vitally important.
Hopefully this situation is making you value good health more than ever. You want and need to keep as strong and healthy as can be. The obese and diabetics are among the ‘high risk’ groups for this virus. They are also at higher risk from seasonal flu and many other medical issues.
So, working within the current situation, here’s my advice to try to help you not gain weight, not become grossly unfit, not feel like crap, or at least to minimise the damage to your long term health during this unprecedented period, so you don’t end it having escaped the coronavirus but instead put yourself at long-term risk from other serious chronic medical conditions….
1. Nutrition
Firstly, this situation is NOT an excuse to eat junk!!
More than ever you are contributing to good health by eating a diet mainly made up of unprocessed/minimally processed, real, whole foods.
Tinned/dried beans, tinned/dried lentils, rice, pasta, tomatoes, frozen veg, frozen fruit are all cheap, keep a long time, and are FULL of nutrients and high in fibre.
Your diet should comprise nutrient-dense foods which release energy slowly and consistently throughout the day.
Highly-processed food is high in calories, low in nutrients, will send you on a blood sugar/cravings rollercoaster, and has been strongly associated not just with weight gain but also with depression and other mental health issues.
When you think about it calmly and positively, this situation is actually providing the ideal opportunity to clean up your diet! You have more control over your environment and may finally be in a situation where you don’t have colleagues bringing in treats to share every other day!
If you are not commuting due to working from home, you potentially now have more time available to cook. Traditional nutrient-dense foods are not just healthier, they are also cheaper than highly processed ready meals, and may well require fewer trips to the supermarket (e.g. a pack of dried lentils/beans/rice lasts many meals, frozen veg/fruit does not go off).
Calories may need to be reduced due to lesser energy expenditure. If so, the reduction should be from carbs/fats rather than from protein. If you are unsure how to make this adjustment or how much you should be adjusting by, then consult a professional such as myself.
2. Movement AKA Non-Exercise Activity AKA NEAT
Movement is key to effective functioning of your bodily systems and to keeping your metabolism as high as possible. Reasearch has also shown that being overly sedentary can lead to disruption of satiety signaling, ie overeating.
‘Non-exercise activity’ is relevant as, along with actual ‘exercise’ it accounts for 15-30% of your daily calorie useage. ‘Non-exercise activity’ is all movement that isn’t formal aerobic or resistance exercise – from fidgeting to standing, to actual walking.
One major recommendation here is that you want to do your utmost to keep your level of activity up. Schedule some bursts of activity throughout the day, ensure you (safely) take the opportunity to do the permitted outside exercise, even if it’s a walk. Set yourself a target of trying to still reach or even exceed your pre-lockdown daily stepcount level. Getting out in daylight will also help with sleep later in the day, as seeing daylight earlier in the day will tell the body to produce melatonin later.
You will also benefit from adding in some stretching and mobility work. Being at home probably means been slouched more than usual, and if you’re desk-based probably working without a proper DSE set-up. Stress can also make you stiffer and carry more tension in your muscles, especially around the shoulders, neck and hips/psoas.
3. Exercise
I understand that you may be stuck at at home, but you CAN still exercise! I’m training my clients via videolink. Kids are doing online PE from home, adults should make sure they get their exercise in too.
Ideally you want to do 3 or 4 sessions of resistance training and several 30 minute sessions of a cardio activity which raises your heart rate per week.
Shameless plug: I’m fully set up for remote/video coaching and you don’t need loads of equipment for me to be able to programme you an effective workout.
4. Water
Water is key to life and to the effective functioning of the body. Water is also is super-important in preventing weight gain too. Often people mistake thirst for hunger. Water can also be used as a hunger-blunter or used to fill you up before eating.
5. Mindset
If you are the sort of person who stress eats or boredom eats, then you wil need to put in extra effort to try to not suffer more from this type of eating at this time.
If you are a grazer, then making the treats and ‘picking’ food harder to see and harder to reach is a good start; not letting the junk or the binge food in your house to start with would be the best option.
6. Sleep
Lack of sleep means hunger hormones increase and satiety hormones decrease, which mean it’s more difficult not to overeat, and you’re less likely to be able to stop eating.
7. Structure, routine, forward planning
Structure, routine and forward planning are key for preserving mental health at this time, and key to staying on track. A structured day means you’re less likely to overeat. Routine means you’re more likely to stick to planned exercise and get a good night’s sleep. A plan means you’re more likely to stick to dietary targets and good nutritional choices.
As I said at the start of this piece, this situation shouldn’t be used as excuse to eat junk or be sedentary. There is a correlation between obesity and death rate with Covid 19 as there is with many other medical issues (remember last year’s Cancer Research Obesity ad?)
Treating the lockdown period as a write-off is the same mistake as many make over December each year. All it does is move you further away from where you want your health and fitness to be.
Post-lockdown, people will want to regain their body and their fitness from wherever they ‘left off’, but in reality unless you have managed your diet and activity levels consistently during the lockdown period, you’ll be in a worse position than you were before the lockdown started.
Even after we start seeing restrictions lifted, it’s possible that the government may continue to restrict the reopening of locations such as gyms. Your ‘temporary’ lapse in gym attendance may be forced to continue longer than you originally expected; the habit will be lost. Unless you find a way to work on your fitness your health will suffer and your waistline will likely expand.
Your long-term good health relies on you pursuing a healthy lifestyle with good nutrition, appropriate portion sizes, maintaining a healthy weight, a good level of cardio fitness and muscle. Don’t let this current unprecedented situation move you further away from long-term good health.
Another few shameless plugs:
I’m fully set up for remote/video coaching and you don’t need loads of equipment for me to be able to programme you an effective workout. No gym, no problem. It’s my job to see possibilities where you may just see challenges.
My nutrition coaching and plans have always been delivered through remote and online, so still function as before.
If you would like any further information regarding nutrition or PT please contact me.
Be well, stay well, and make sure your actions during lockdown safeguard your long-term as well as your short-term health.